Cubism was developed between about 1908 and 1912 in a collaboration between Georges Braque
and Pablo Picasso. Their main influences are said to have been Tribal Art (although Braque later
disputed this) and the work of Paul Cezanne. The movement itself was not long-lived or widespread, but it
began an immense creative explosion which resonated through all of 20th century art.
The key concept underlying Cubism is that the essence of an object can only be captured by showing it
from multiple points of view simultaneously.
Impressionism is a light, spontaneous manner of painting which began in France as a reaction
against the restrictions and conventions of the dominant Academic art. Its naturalistic and down-to-earth
treatment of its subject matter, most commonly landscapes, has its roots in the French Realism of Camille
Corot and others.
The movement's name was derived from Monet's early work, Impression: Sunrise, which was singled out
for criticism by Louis Leroy upon its exhibition.
The hallmark of the style is the attempt to capture the subjective impression of light in a scene.
The core of the earliest Impressionist group was made up of Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and PierreAuguste Renoir. Others associated with this period were Camille Pissarro, Frederic Bazille, Edgar Degas,
Gustave Caillebotte, Edouard Manet, and the American Mary Cassatt.
The Impressionist style was probably the single most successful and identifiable "movement" ever, and is
still widely practiced today. But as an intellectual school it faded towards the end of the 19th century,
branching out into a variety of successive movements which are generally grouped under the term PostImpressionism.
Post-Impressionism is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of artists who were
influenced by Impressionism but took their art in other directions.
There is no single well-defined style of Post-Impressionism, but in general it is less idyllic and more
emotionally charged than Impressionist work.
The classic Post-Impressionists are Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Henri
Rousseau and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The Pointillists and Les Nabis are also generally included
among the Post-Impressionists.
Surrealism is a style in which fantastical visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used with no
intention of making the work logically comprehensible. Founded by Andre Breton in 1924, it was a
primarily European movement that attracted many members of the chaotic Dada movement. It was similar
in some elements to the mystical 19th-century Symbolist movement, but was deeply influenced by the
psychoanalytic work of Freud and Jung.
The Surrealist circle was made up of many of the great artists of the 20th century, including Max Ernst,
Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Arp, Man Ray, Joan Miro, and Rene Magritte. Salvador Dali, probably the single
best-known Surrealist artist, broke with the group due to his right-wing politics (during this period leftism
was the fashion among Surrealists, and in fact in almost all intellectual circles).
Magic Realism is an American style of art with Surrealist overtones. The art is anchored in
everyday reality, but has overtones of fantasy or wonder. The term was later also applied to the
literary works of authors such as Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez.
Artists most commonly associated with the style are Paul Cadmus, Ivan Albright, Philip Evergood,
and George Tooker. Andrew Wyeth is sometimes associated with this group, due to the vaguely
mysterious nature of his landscapes and portraits.
Pointillism is a form of painting in which tiny dots of primary-colors are used to generate
secondary colors. It is an offshoot of Impressionism, and is usually categorized as a form of PostImpressionism. It is very similar to Divisionism, except that where Divisionism is concerned with
color theory, Pointillism is more focused on the specific style of brushwork used to apply the paint.
The term "Pointillism" was first used with respect to the work of Georges Seurat, and he is the artist
most closely associated with the movement. The relatively few artists who worked in this style also
included Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross.
Pointillism is considered to have been an influence on Fauvism. is a form of painting in which tiny
dots of primary-colors are used to generate secondary colors. It is an offshoot of Impressionism, and
is usually categorized as a form of Post-Impressionism. It is very similar to Divisionism, except that
where Divisionism is concerned with color theory, Pointillism is more focused on the specific style of
brushwork used to apply the paint.
The term "Pointillism" was first used with respect to the work of Georges Seurat, and he is the artist
most closely associated with the movement. The relatively few artists who worked in this style also
included Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross.
Pointillism is considered to have been an influence on Fauvism.
Fauvism grew out of Pointillism and Post-Impressionism, but is characterized by a more primitive and
less naturalistic form of expression. Paul Gauguin's style and his use of color were especially strong
influences.
The artists most closely associated with Fauvism are Albert Marquet, Andre Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck
and Henri Matisse.